Chapter 17
ALIéNOR
I arrived at Diamant for another interview. It was my third one, so I assumed I was a finalist for the unpaid position. Luca’s money would get me by for a while, but if this internship didn’t turn into a full-time gig within six months, it might not work out.
I entered the building and waited in the lobby until someone came to retrieve me.
We entered the elevator and rose to the third floor before I was escorted into Mrs. Bernard’s office.
She was the office supervisor, someone who maintained the flow of the business so everyone could focus on their tasks.
I wasn’t sure who I would work for or what my job details would be if I were hired.
All they did was ask me questions, but I didn’t get to ask questions of my own.
I was seated across the desk from Mrs. Bernard, a middle-aged woman who showed the fashion and flair of Diamant. In a low-cut black blouse tucked into her black pencil skirt, she looked like she could be a model rather than a boss.
She sat across from me and made small talk, asking me how my week had been and talking about all the rain we’d been receiving this season. I went along with it, but showing up to three interviews for a job with no pay made me wish we could cut the shit.
“So unfortunately, I think we’re going to go with someone else for the position.” She said it point-blank because that’s how French women were.
I blinked several times, shocked that I’d invested all this time and they’d just strung me along. Who made someone come to the office just to be told they didn’t get the job? “Oh…I see.” But I took the rejection like a good sport because losing my cool wouldn’t change anything.
“We actually found a different position for you. Our fashion merchandiser is relocating to Milan, so the position will be vacant in the next week. We think you’d be a good fit for it.”
“Why?” I blurted without thinking. A fashion merchandiser was a high position in a company like this, someone who analyzed trends and behaviors in fashion, looked at sales data for all the different departments where specific items were sold.
Planned for seasonal changes and foresaw demands based on consumer behaviors. It was a big job.
She smiled at my candor. “You’re obviously intelligent and motivated.”
I didn’t have an education or experience of any kind.
If tragedy hadn’t struck, I would have moved to Milan for university.
Maybe I wouldn’t have come back. I could be there right now, eating a big bowl of pasta and drinking a glass of wine.
But I’d stayed in Paris because this beautiful city had replaced the family I lost. She had been there for me in her own way, with a framboise croissant in the morning, with the lights guiding me home late at night, with the rain that washed away my despair every day.
“That’s nice of you to say.” I still couldn’t believe that this was real, that they would select me for such a prominent position for which I was grossly underqualified.
But I’d bust my ass to match my predecessor, to make sure they didn’t regret entrusting something so important to a novice like me.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity.”
She smiled. “Can you start tomorrow? You should take advantage of Mia’s final week and learn what you can.”
“Absolutely.”
She presented all the hiring paperwork and collected my information so they could get me on the payroll.
The salary was decent at seventy euros a year.
It wasn’t a fortune, especially in an expensive place like Paris, but it was definitely a lot more than what the internship paid.
“Thank you so much for this opportunity.”
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
It’d been a couple days since I’d spoken to Luca, so I sent him a text. Hey. He might already be asleep from working all night, or he might not be off work at all. I really didn’t know with him.
But his three dots were immediate. Hey. That was all he said, back to being a tightly shut clam.
Thought we could get something to eat if you’re free. It was still morning, almost eleven by the time I walked out of Diamant with a new job under my belt.
I can pick you up.
I’m not at home. Just finished my interview. I can meet you somewhere.
You know Holybelly?
I’d never heard of it. I pulled it up on my phone. I can get there in fifteen minutes. It was too far to walk from where I was close to the Seine. I’d have to take a taxi, which was a reasonable expense, considering I had a job now.
See you then.
I got into a taxi, and it took me across town at the very edge of the 19th arrondissement.
The taxi dropped me off on the one-way road, and I walked inside the double doors to discover an American-themed breakfast joint with orange booths.
It was packed with people, but Luca immediately stood out as he sat alone in a booth, in a long-sleeved shirt with his elbows on the table.
His eyes immediately caught mine, and with the recognition, he gave a hint of a smile.
He slid out of the booth and stood to his full height as I approached, a slight smirk moving over his lips at the sight of me.
When I was close enough, his arm circled the small of my back, and he pulled me close for a kiss, greeting me the way a man greeted his woman, like I was someone special, someone who made him get to his feet.
Luca had been the biggest jackass when I met him, but now he was someone different.
At least, he was with me.
He let me go and returned to where he’d been sitting in the booth.
I scooted onto the bench across from him.
He set his menu in front of me.
“So, what’s good here?”
“I get everything.”
“You get everything?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s a small menu,” he said with a slight shrug.
The waiter came over, and he seemed to know Luca because they fist-bumped each other then talked about football. They seemed to like opposing teams because there was a little shit-talking back and forth. I ordered a coffee, and Luca stuck to water.
“You come here a lot?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Take girls here the morning after?” I meant it playfully, because it was a joint that only served breakfast until they closed at two p.m.
His eyes hardened at the taunt. “I don’t do that.”
“Then you come here alone?”
“I come here with the guys sometimes. Usually on Sundays.”
“Aw, that’s cute.” I looked at the menu and tried to decide.
He sat with his elbows on the table, hands together in front of him, staring at me.
I could feel the stare. “Since we’re on the topic, can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
My eyes lifted to his, surprised he gave the same answer as before, clearly trying to make an effort with me.
Maybe to someone else, it wouldn’t seem like much, but I’d meant nothing to Luca when we met, and I could see the stark difference between then and now.
Words might be hard to come by with him, but he showed his affection in other ways. “Have you ever been in a relationship?”
“Be more specific. There are lots of different kinds.”
“Well, tell me what kind of relationships you’ve been in.”
He was quiet as he massaged his knuckles like they were sore from punching someone last night. “I’ve been in situationships. I think that’s what kids are calling it these days.”
I smiled.
“I have regulars. Hookups and booty calls. But I’ve never been in a monogamous relationship for any length of time.”
No wonder this was a challenge for him.
“Until you.”
It was hard not to smile, especially when I felt the joy burst in my heart like a firework. “Why me?”
He continued to massage his knuckles as he considered the question, taking one of his signature pauses that lasted a lifetime. “I don’t care about anybody.” His eyes strayed as he searched for words that didn’t readily come to him. “But I care about you.”
They were simple words, but coming from him, they were more profound than a poem by Charles Baudelaire.
“I care about you too.” He was more beautiful than the cathedrals and spires and sculptures of this great city.
More beautiful than any piece of artwork displayed in the Louvre.
But underneath, he was a catacomb of thoughts and emotions, and that only added to his depth and complexity.
I liked the muscle, but I liked everything underneath it too.
We stared at each other for a while until his eyes flicked away to the door behind me. They stayed there, and slowly, the calm he exuded started to fade. His kind eyes suddenly looked irritated.
I almost turned around to see whatever he was looking at, but I thought it was better to stay still.
His eyes followed someone approach our table. His elbows left the table, and he sank back into the cushion of the booth.
At my side appeared a six-foot-something beast of a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and black ink all over his arms and up his neck. He would have been absolutely terrifying if he didn’t smirk at Luca—like they were friends. “What have we got here?”
Luca didn’t reciprocate his warmth.
At his side was a pretty brunette, significantly shorter than the man she was with.
It immediately clicked in my head who he was, based on what Luca had told me. “Bastien, right?”
The blond man turned his gaze to me, smiled like he was the least threatening guy in the world, and extended his hand to shake mine. “Aliénor, right?”
So, Luca had talked about me to his friends. I shook Bastien’s hand. “Yeah. Luca has told me about you. That you’re a brother to him.”
“Did he now?” Bastien turned to look at Luca again, wearing a wide smirk.
Luca didn’t look mad at me, specifically, but he didn’t look thrilled.
Bastien introduced the woman with him. “My wife, my woman, my lady—Fleur.”
“It’s lovely to meet you.” With warmth, she shook my hand and gave me a smile.
“You too,” I said.
“Mind if we join you?” Bastien clapped his big hands together and rubbed his palms.